Lowrie to miss 4-6 weeks; club mulls options

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SAN DIEGO — Jed Lowrie won’t be putting on anyone else’s uniform by the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean the Astros won’t be making a move at shortstop in the coming days or weeks.

Lowrie got his diagnosis Tuesday, and he’s likely out 4-6 weeks with half a leg’s worth of injuries. More concerning than the originally announced sprained ankle is the confirmation of damage to the nerve in his lower leg.

The injury to the peroneal nerve in his right leg is going to keep him in a boot for the next week for the purpose of resting it and may send the Astros into the market. While Marwin Gonzalez is getting time at shortstop now, general manager Jeff Luhnow said the Astros will consider other options both inside and outside the organization.

“We’re going to have to think about how to cover his at-bats and his innings out there,” Luhnow said. ”Marwin’s playing great, but when you have a player coming up from (Class) AA and you ask him to play every day … we’re certainly thankful we have him and he’s going to get a lot of playing time, but we need to consider other options whether it’s bringing up somebody else from AAA or looking outside the organization.”

Angel Sanchez, another trade acquisition from the Boston Red Sox, has been the primary shortstop at Class AAA Oklahoma City. He is hitting .299 with a .375 on-base percentage and a .386 slugging percentage and is a .255/.304/.308 career hitter in the majors.

Sanchez is the only likely internal option. The RedHawks’ two other shortstops are either up already (Brian Bixler as a utility man) or released (Diory Hernandez).
The loss of Lowrie is a significant one for an offense struggling to produce much power. In addition to his .343 on-base percentage, Lowrie had a team-best .456 slugging percentage propelled by a team-leading 14 homers.

He was originally injured Saturday in a collision at second base and went on the disabled list Sunday along with Jason Castro.
The two flew back to Houston and were examined Tuesday with Castro’s prognosis somewhat better.

Castro has swelling in his right knee, and Luhnow is optimistic the catcher will be able to rejoin the team around the earliest possible day, which is Monday.
However, doctors are still trying to figure out the best course of action and whether there is any damage to the meniscus, which could complicate things. They want to see how he responds to having the knee drained.

“Hopefully he’ll feel better after that,” Luhnow said. ”We’ll know in 3-4 days and at that point, we’ll know more about the timetable.”
While Castro hadn’t enjoyed the full season that Lowrie had at the plate, he was hot before the injury, improving to .254 with a .330 on-base percentage and a .379
slugging percentage.